Page 19 - Election Commission Of India

The KYC menace: Aadhaar-linked chaos frustrates daily transactions

The Supreme Court's instruction last week to include Aadhaar is supposed to ease this situation somewhat

Prashant Kishor calls Bihar voter list revision a 'BJP-led' conspiracy

Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor waded into the political controversy surrounding the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar on Wednesday when he described the mammoth exercise as a "BJP conspiracy". Kishor made the remark in Kishanganj, the state's lone district with a Muslim majority population, and promised that his fledgling party would help those whose names get wrongfully deleted from the voters' list. Talking to reporters, he said, "The SIR is a BJP conspiracy. The Supreme Court has made it clear that Election Commission cannot determine people's citizenship. Does the Election Commission, by carrying out such an exercise now, intend to say that the electoral roll of 2014, when Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister, was fake?". He added, "The same electoral roll was fine till last year's Lok Sabha polls. We fail to see a problem in conducting the upcoming assembly polls on the basis of the same voters' list." "Obviously, the BJP is jittery in .

TDP urges EC for more time, easy inclusion in voter roll revision

The TDP urged the Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday to give adequate time to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Andhra Pradesh, saying it should not be held within six months of a major poll and the voters already enrolled in the latest roll be not required to reestablish their identity. The suggestions offered by the BJP ally to the poll watchdog come amid a political row over the ongoing SIR in Bihar as its implementation close to the Assembly polls in the eastern state and the burden of proof on prospective voters in many cases have drawn criticism from opposition parties. "The SIR's purpose must be clearly defined and limited to electoral-roll correction and inclusion. It should be explicitly communicated that the exercise is not related to citizenship verification, and any field instructions must reflect this distinction," a Telugu Desam Party (TDP) delegation told the EC. Batting for the "presumption of inclusion", it said the voters who are alrea

Exclusion errors: ECI must ensure genuine voters are not left out

Ever since it was set up, and without a definitive proof of citizenship issued under the Citizenship Act, the ECI has done a commendable job in preparing inclusive electoral rolls

Rahul, Kharge accuse BJP of poll manipulation in Bihar; slam ECI

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and stalwart Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused the BJP of making attempts to "steal (chori) the elections in Bihar, as it did in Maharashtra" last year. Addressing the party's 'Samvidhan Bachao Samavesh' here, the Congress leaders also accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of not doing its duty but working for the interest of the BJP. We will prevent the BJP and ECI from stealing the elections in Bihar," Gandhi said. The Congress has been alleging that the manipulation of the voters' list helped a BJP-led alliance win the Maharashtra assembly polls in 2024. Gandhi alleged that Odisha's new BJP government is run by industrialist Gautam Adani, for whom, the leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha claimed, the Rath Yatra in Puri was halted. He also wooed the party's grassroot workers, saying: You are Babbar Sher' (lions), do not fear anyone and fight for justice. At closed door meetings after the public meeting, the party top brass, in a mes

Consider Aadhaar for Bihar voter roll revision: Supreme Court to EC

The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission of India to accept Aadhaar, voter ID, and ration cards as valid documents for the Special Intensive Revision of Bihar electoral rolls

What concerns did Supreme Court raise over Bihar's voter roll revision? | Aadhaar card | Bihar polls

The Supreme Court today, raised serious questions before the EC, while hearing pleas challenging the electoral rolls revision in Bihar ahead of the Assembly polls.

SC refuses to stay Bihar voter list revision, urges ECI to allow Aadhaar

SC urges ECI to consider Aadhaar cards, EPIC (electoral photo identity) cards, ration card as ID proof; seeks response by July 21, next hearing scheduled for July 28

SC questions EC's timing, Aadhaar exclusion in Bihar voter list case

Observing that the last such revision was carried out in 2003, the bench said the exercise is constitutionally mandated but criticised the timing

'Aadhaar not a proof of citizenship', ECI tells SC amid Bihar roll row

SC hears pleas against Bihar voter roll revision; ECI says Aadhaar not proof of citizenship as Bench questions timing and risk of disenfranchising voters ahead of upcoming elections

Delhi court discharges TMC's Sagarika Ghose, 9 others in ECI protest case

A Delhi court on Thursday discharged 10 TMC leaders, including Derek O'Brien, Sagarika Ghose and Saket Gokhale, in a case linked to a protest outside the Election Commission of India last year despite prohibitory orders being in place. Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Neha Mittal passed the order of discharge. A detailed order is awaited. Earlier on May 13, the court had granted bail to the accused persons. On April 30, it granted exemption from personal appearance to the accused persons, except Vivek Gupta The court had summoned the accused persons on April 21 while taking congisance of the chargesheet. The TMC leaders held the protest against central probe agencies CBI, NIA, ED and the Income Tax Department in April last year. A 10-member delegation of the TMC had announced the protest after meeting a full bench of the Election Commission of India (ECI) to press their demand. The party alleged the central probe agencies were targeting opposition parties at the behest of th

Tejashwi slams ECI amid Bihar Bandh, calls it 'wing of political party'

He further alleged that the ECI has lost its credibility and accused it of preparing to exclude poor people from the voter list systematically

Electoral roll revision: Owaisi says livelihood, not just vote at stake

Calling the process rushed and impractical, Owaisi said even a 15-20 per cent error rate could have devastating consequences for marginalised communities

Bihar voter verification row reaches Supreme Court, hearing on July 10

Petitions by RJD, ADR, PUCL, and others argue that Bihar's new verification norms violate electoral laws and fundamental rights ahead of the 2025 polls

Bihar electoral roll update stirs row ahead of polls: All you need to know

While the EC insists that the Special Intensive Revision of the voter list is aimed at ensuring electoral integrity, critics argue that it risks disenfranchisement among Bihar's marginalised groups

EC's voter verification drive stirs political pot ahead of Bihar polls

While the poll body insists its drive will ensure integrity of electoral rolls, the Opposition alleges it will disenfranchise millions from marginalised sections. Archis Mohan explains

Why Bihar's voter list update has sparked fears of disenfranchisement

A special revision of Bihar's electoral rolls has triggered a political storm, with concerns over voter deletion, citizenship proof, and impact on the poor and marginalised

Special Intensive Revision in Bihar 'on schedule', says CEC Gyanesh Kumar

The Special Intensive Revision is a focused voter list update exercise conducted by the Election Commission of India to ensure electoral rolls are accurate ahead of upcoming elections

Meeting held under pressure: Jairam Ramesh attacks ECI over INDIA bloc meet

The Congress leader noted that the Election Commission earlier refused a meeting, however, later only allowed two leaders from a party, due to which some leaders could not even meet the officials

Vote-bandi will destroy democracy: Cong opposes EC's roll revision in Bihar

Leaders of several INDIA bloc parties met the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar and raised concerns over its timing, alleging that over two crore voters of the state may be disenfranchised by this mammoth exercise being done just ahead of assembly elections. The Congress claimed that after the prime minister's 'notebandi' (demonetisation) that "destroyed" the country's economy, EC's 'Vote-bandi' in Bihar will demolish India's democracy. Leaders from 11 parties, including the Congress, RJD, CPI(M), CPI, CPI(ML) Liberation, NCP-SP and the Samajwadi Party, put forth their objections before Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and other election commissioners to the special scrutiny of the voters' list. The INDIA bloc parties have been vocal in their opposition to the Special Intensive Revision exercise that has already started in Bihar and is to be carried out in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, which ar